Dry sump mod and better intake , headers

Anybody here that did that? I have a dry sump 4.2 V8 in a Maserati Spyder and the hood is so much lower. I also think that the engine would benefit greatly from better breathing at both ends. When I compare the two cars it is like day and night presently. I feel like the (4.6 l modular)engine runs out of steam at about 4k rpm so there is no use to rev it higher. Up until then it has a good power buildup. Is that normal? To be honest the 4.6l is a bit of disappointment especially compared to the Maserati...
This is my 6th Mustang (I've had every gen except the M II) I had high hopes for the Cobras 32V engine and the LSD IRS and was let down quite a bit...

Stock off the showroom floor they will easily hit 7000 rpm. Modified with springs and proper cams and ECU they are 10,000 rpm engines. The engine operating range has nothing to do with the oiling system style.

Yes it hits 7000 but with obvious difficulty. I've had multiple Alfas and now the Maserati and all these are "happy" revving engines. The 4.6 feels more like a pushrod engine the way it runs out of steam past the mid range rpm. I was expecting the "surge" to go all the way up to the red line but it just doesn't. Nothing wrong with the engine per se but comparing to the Italians it definitely has the (traditional) V8 personality...
Just wandering if that seems normal ... The dry sumping is another project I'm planning- unrelated to the power band question...

The engine as delivered by Ford is designed for proletariate daily driving duty. As such its power curve is focussed on low speed torque to move the vehicle around in city traffic. If you want the engine to be a mid to upper rpm range performance engine all you have to do is build it for that. Pick your poison, its your call.

Would '98 cams do it? Headers? (do they even fit with so little space there) What intake? I feel the stock intake manifold is quite restrictive. The only one I found is the FR 500 but these are like hens teeth.
BTW I love the "lumpy" idle of "open" cam cars- is that doable?
But....I need it to be legal for smog test in California.

Would '98 cams do it? Headers? (do they even fit with so little space there) What intake? I feel the stock intake manifold is quite restrictive. The only one I found is the FR 500 but these are like hens teeth.
BTW I love the "lumpy" idle of "open" cam cars- is that doable?
But....I need it to be legal for smog test in California.

Most everything you asked about was possible until you said you need it to be legal for Cali smog check, Cali smog check is a show stopper for you.

JBA makes a set of CARB approved shorty headers. I have a set on my car although I couldn't tell you how much they are worth in terms of power. The Factory cast iron exhaust manifolds
actually are not bad as many cars have exceeded 700 HP with them.

The Factory intake manifold is nice and you can port it as well. Finally, for sure a set of custom cams, plus more compression will help extend the power band upwards.